by Travis Tufo
“This is the best we have to go on right now, and you know that. But if you insist, we could go back to Portland and get eaten alive by any one of those million freaks.” Eli just kept walking, and Aurora snarled and followed behind him, still slightly limping.
“Well, it’s good to see that we are still getting along,” Niva chimed in, only to get a loud “shut up!” from both Eli and Aurora. Before Aurora could argue again about how much of a waste of time this was, they heard a loud howl coming from the woods.
“Is that a wolf?” Eli seemed less than amused.
“A wolf!” Niva quaked in fear.
“Shh.” Aurora listened for more; at least four could be heard all around them. Eli took a moment, now starting to feel fear. He looked up at the beautiful large trees all around them. The trees looked so good this time of year that tourists actually left their warm homes and came to visit Maine just to be called “leaf peepers.” His gaze eventually locked onto the moon, high in the sky, pale and barely visible in the afternoon sun. It was almost eerie. Eli must have stared at it for too long as he was starting to see a face emerge from the surface. It could have been his lack of sleep, lack of food, stress of the shithole world they were in, Shaun’s death, or a million other reasons, but goose bumps covered his arms as he just stared blankly at the moon watching a skull start to form in it. Aurora and Niva couldn’t help but watch Eli in this trance. He might have stood there all night had he not heard an even louder howl to his right.
“Eli!” Niva cried, and clung to him. Aurora saw this and was about to rip her right off his arm when a large wolf crept out from the woods. They all saw it at the same time. The three of them froze in fear as if they hadn’t been facing thousands of undead infected monsters for the last few weeks. It was a beautiful animal, larger than usual, maybe the leader of a pack. It had grey fur with streaks of golden red through it. Bright blue eyes stared directly at Eli, and he just stared right back, revolver clenched tightly in his hand. Eli took a second to look past the wolf at a graveyard a few feet behind it. There were only a few tombstones, just a family plot, but before he could make anything of it, the large wolf took one step forward. Its teeth were now exposed. What was once a beautiful animal suddenly became a menacing predator. Eli felt Niva cling to his arm even tighter. He raised his revolver into the air pointing it right in-between the wolf’s eyes. It took one more step forward and Eli cocked the gun’s hammer back. The second the clicking noise ensured his gun was ready to fire, dozens of howls filled the cool forest air from all around.
“No goddamned way,” Eli whispered out, leaving a cloud following his breath in the cold air. Before the alpha wolf could take another step forward, a near angelic sound could be heard in the distance. It was an engine revving a few hundred yards away from them. It was the same engine that had saved them from Walmart. Eli turned to Aurora, who never took her eyes off the wolf. Hearing the engine made the animal slowly turn and creep back past the tombstones where he quickly vanished from their sight.
“I…I hate wolves!” Niva was so relieved that the wolf had left that she barely acknowledged the engine revving.
“Niva, shut your mouth before I shut if for you.” Aurora drew her rifle and tore her away from Eli’s arm. Eli too, pointed his gun towards the engine. Niva shook herself then pulled out a small knife. Eli lowered his voice.
“Okay, let’s get over to that noise quickly and find out what kind of guy this is, but be ready for anything. You know the type of people running around as well as I do. If we have to put him down, we will, alright? Also I’d suggest keeping an eye out for those wolves; they’re obviously hungry.” Eli created a quick game plan, to which Aurora and Niva gave a nod. Together they all rushed deeper into the woods to find the revving truck. They ran faster and faster towards the engine as they could hear it getting louder and louder. They finally made it to a clearing where they heard a booming voice, almost like a god.
“Drop your weapons or I will drop you!” It wasn’t a statement, it was clearly a demand. Eli stopped dead in his tracks, looking around for the source of the voice while Niva and Aurora caught up to either side of him. They all three stood in a line looking for the truck.
“There it is!” Eli said pointing towards a bright red truck off into the woods before them.
“Eli! Drop your gun right now!” Aurora practically threw her rifle on the ground. Niva was startled and when she looked over to Eli, she, too, dropped her weapon.
“What is it?” Eli looked down to the center of his chest and saw it, a red laser dot very steadily aiming right at him. Eli took in a large gulp, and raised both hands into the air. Only when his second hand was in the sky did he drop his gun. It hit the ground hard and even kicked up some dirt.
“Good! Now take twenty steps forward, each of you!” The booming voice only got louder. It was clearly coming from the red truck, but they still couldn’t see anyone. The three of them looked at each other and started taking their steps. Eli took the longest strides, putting him the farthest ahead. Niva was just a few feet behind him, and Aurora was quite a ways back, due to her leg. They were spread out a good bit, just as the man commanding them wanted.
“Now take five more steps in any direction you wish!” The command nearly stumped all three of them, even causing Eli to question it under his breath.
“Now!” the voice roared over the trees. Niva took five steps back, Aurora took five steps to her left, and Eli looked back to the sinister moon once more before taking five more steps forward. Just like that a large man jumped out of the bed of the truck. He must have been squatting down the entire time to keep himself hidden.
“You know I can tell a lot about you from those last five steps you took.” It was still too hard to see the man’s features, but that problem was fixing itself as he started towards the group. Eli noticed at first a good lack of a rifle or any other gun in his hands. The man became easier to see. He had long brown hair and an even longer brown beard. His beard was past his chest and would give any mountain man a run for his money. He wore a black shirt under a military camouflage coat and pants. He had on light brown military boots that would be used for forced marches or hiking, and he was easily two-hundred twenty pounds of near solid muscle. The large man headed straight for Eli, and when he came face to face with him, he towered over Eli.
“Do you know what I learned about you from those last five steps?” he asked Eli in his booming voice that seemed like a yell even when he was just speaking normally. Eli hesitated at first.
“Uh…what? What did you learn about me?” It was clear that Eli felt intimidated by this man and there was certainly some confusion in that moment.
“I learned that you, my friend, are fearless and a leader. You are like a lion, risking your life for your pride. You pressed on, even when presented with imminent danger. Well, that, or you are a fool.” A bright white smile shined through that majestic beard.
“Wha…what?” Eli was stumped, not knowing if he was being toyed with before being killed.
“Oh come on! I’m only pulling your leg!” he chuckled.
“Where’s your gun?” Eli squinted his eyes in confusion.
“My gun? I have no gun.”
“Then what the hell was that red dot?”
“Ohh, this?” The large bearded man pulled out a laser pointer.
“Are you kidding me?” Eli’s jaw hung low.
“Would you prefer it be a gun?” His smile continued on. Aurora took a step towards the man and Eli, and that smile quickly faded.
“You stay right where you are!” His pounding voice came back.
“I am taking a huge risk letting you three even this close to my home, and I can’t take any chances with you advancing on me.” Aurora froze in her spot.
“Oh, we didn’t mean to intrude on your home!” Eli quickly tried to diffuse the situation.
“Oh, no?”
“No, not at all, we just…”
“Because I’ve been watch
ing you three for the last few days. Oh yes, that’s right. I’ve seen you tracking me and my truck right to this spot we are all standing on. Now would you like to tell me why you are here? And then a follow up statement should be made answering why I shouldn’t have my brother kill all three of you right where you stand. And for the record, he’s the one who carries the guns.” The man was smiling at them, but Eli was clearly frightened by the situation he found himself in. He certainly wasn’t finding any answers from Aurora or Niva so he had to speak up, and fast.
“First of all, I’d like to apologize for making you feel at all threatened, if we did. We weren’t hunting you or anything, we were just trying to find you. We were trapped in that Walmart when you came through blaring your horn. You saved us, and we thought that if we came and found you that you would be a safer bet than staying out in the middle of Portland. And as for your brother, I think a good reason not to blow our brains out right here is because we mean you and your brother no harm.” The bearded man took in the information, seeming to ponder what Eli had said.
“Let me give you a scenario…what’s your name?”
“Eli.”
“Okay, Eli. Say you were being followed by a group of three very suspicious looking wanderers who were all fully armed and seemingly capable of doing harm. So far that’s not an ideal place to be in, right?”
“I uh…I guess not, but…”
“No, no buts, not yet at least. Now on top of all that, let’s say that these three unidentified individuals now followed you all the way onto your property, the same plot of land where your family and loved ones are. Normally, on any random given day of the year, before all this, I’d expect them to be hunters just looking for deer on my land. But in these times we find ourselves in, what would your move be?” The large man placed his hands at his hip waiting for an answer.
“You know what my answer is going to be.”
“No, I don’t. So tell me what it is, Eli.”
“I would have picked them off a long time ago with your brother’s gun from the safety of that truck.”
“Yes, of course you would have, because in these dark times, that is the wisest thing to do. People right now are just as bad as the lost.”
“The lost?”
“Yes, the lost. Those dead who still roam the earth are lost souls Eli. They didn’t get to pass on. But that is not the point. I know now that perhaps you three didn’t mean any harm, and that’s fine, but I know there is something you wish to ask me. Perhaps it’s a favor, or maybe you want supplies, but I just can’t give you any more than I have already given you.”
“What do you mean? What have you given us?”
“Eli, I have given you three another shot at life. None of you should have ever set foot on this land, but I am still allowing you to walk away unscathed.” The man started to turn and head back for his truck.
“Excuse me, sir, but I think you owe me a bit more than that.” This raised the man’s interest. He turned around and gave Eli a curious look.
“Go on.” He let Eli have the floor.
“If you know anything about what is going on or anywhere safe to go, you at least owe it to us to tell us about it. Not because we have done any good deeds for you, but because we are all human beings here, and we are all that remain. You obviously seem like a forgiving enough man since you’re letting us go, so why not just give us that extra little bit of information? We came a long way to meet you, and to thank you for saving us.”
“There are no thanks necessary. I knew something was up with the Walmart when I saw the group of lost congregating outside. I simply did what I was left on this earth to do.”
“And what is that?”
“I was left here to help the forsaken ones pass on.” At that point it hit Eli. He looked deeper at the man’s black tee shirt and noticed a white cross in the middle of it.
“You are a religious man aren’t you?”
“I am a man of God young Eli, and it is up to me to do my part in this Armageddon.”
“Wouldn’t your part also include helping out the good people left on earth? Look, I don’t know what your Bible says about those who are left, but I can assure you that it doesn’t say to let the good people wander off and die. The only thing we have been trying to do since this all happened is survive. We haven’t been looting or killing, we have only been making it day by day. We even lost a friend, a hero, because we are trying to stay human. That is why I’m here before you.” The “Man of God” stroked his beard and looked up to the sky. His sights locked on that same moon, but he saw something else. He muttered some words under his breath. A faint smile crept onto his face.
“Eli, you may not be the smartest man I’ve ever met, but you sure do have a way with your words, for better or for worse.” The man extended out a hand. Eli, shocked at first, met his hand and they exchanged a firm handshake.
“The name’s Kyle, and I suppose it is time for us to start over.” His large, humbling smile was seen through his mighty beard.
“Thank you so much!” Eli was ecstatic.
“Oh, sorry, this is Aurora and Niva. They are the reasons I’m still here. Both of them are great people, way better than me.” Kyle sent his warming smile their way as well and shook both of their hands.
“Nice to meet you,” Aurora said as she took his large hand in both of hers.
“Thank you again, Kyle,” Niva, shy and very grateful, said.
“Don’t thank me, thank Eli. He opened up my eyes when I had shut them. I know that the Lord would want me to help the living as much as the lost. Oh, and I’d like you to meet my brother.” Kyle lifted up an arm and waved to the truck. A younger man crawled out from underneath the truck with a rifle in his hands.
“Wow, I guess that’s why I never saw him. I was wondering if it was a bluff the whole time.” Eli was amazed.
“Oh no, I’ve never seen a better shot than my brother. He would have dropped all three of you before any of you could turn to run. But lucky for you folks we are past that.” They got an uneasy feeling hearing that from Kyle, but a good one at the same time.
“Great. We just dodged another bullet—literally,” Aurora said, looking towards the man coming from the truck.
“This is my brother, Kameron.” Kameron walked up holding a large caliber rifle. He looked a lot like his brother, though he was slightly shorter and much thinner.
“So, I guess you guys found my brother’s immense soft spot for others.” He, too, led off with an inviting smile.
“Yeah, luckily enough,” Eli joked along.
“I knew all along I wasn’t going to shoot you people,” Kameron added.
“You did? And how’s that?” Kyle seemed curious, giving Kameron a questioning look.
“Come on, really? This is the least threatening bunch we’ve seen.” He pointed at the clearly beaten and exhausted group, covered in dried blood with dark spots under their eyes and clear signs of lack of sleep.
“Hmm...maybe you’re right. Eli here doesn’t even have a shirt on,” Kyle added, making Eli look down to his own bare skin, just now remembering he was still without a shirt since he’d wrapped Aurora’s leg days ago.
“Well, they might be harmful to themselves, that is.”
“Standing right here!” Aurora jumped in.
“I’m sorry, ma’am; no offense, but you guys don’t strike me as the types to hurt anybody. It’s not a bad thing by any means, just unusual these days. So what now, Kyle? Are we going to show this bunch some hospitality?” He looked to his older brother who they guessed was in his late thirties. Kameron, on the other hand was right around Eli’s age, if not a little older.
“What a great idea! I’m sure these kids are dying for a big warm meal. And a t-shirt.” As the last word left Kyle’s lips, Eli started to drool.
“Oh god yes! Oh...sorry?” Eli was unsure if using the Lord’s name in vain would offend the men.
“Not a problem. There is more to worry about in these tim
es than your choice of wording.” Kyle quickly diffused any concern that Eli had.
“Yeah, more important things—like seeing my wife and daughter again!” Kameron added.
“Oh, you have a family? And they are safe at the place you are taking us to? It would be nice to meet some new girls for once, no offense to you, Aurora.” Niva gave a cheesy grin.
“Yeah, I do have a family who are safe and sound at home. But not the house we are going to now. They are at my house in Portland; I’m heading there tomorrow. We are taking you to our parents’ house here on this plot of land.”
“Oh my, you left them in a separate home?” Niva seemed worried.
“Yeah! In Portland? That place is crazy right now,” Eli chimed in.
“Oh, don’t fret little miss. I boarded up that house and set up some safety precautions. Plus, I only leave them there when I come out here with Kyle because I don’t want to risk them being out in this mess. But tomorrow I’m going to bring them up here before we set out.” Kyle gave an elbow to Kameron as if he didn’t want the newcomers to know about their plan to leave Maine.
“Set out?” Eli was immediately interested in Kameron’s statement.
“Yeah...we have a plan, but we aren’t fully ready to talk about it.” Kyle got serious.
“Fair enough, man, you are already doing so much for us.” Eli smiled.
“Great! So I guess everything is all settled? You three go grab your gear and follow us to the truck. Oh, and you’re going to have to ride in the back if you don’t mind. It isn’t too far from here.” It didn’t seem like a problem to any of them so the new group of five set out for the house. After just a few minutes of bumpy trails in the backwoods they arrived at a beautiful, remote cabin, isolated from seemingly the entire world.
“Oh my! What a wonderful home.” Niva hadn’t seen anything that hadn’t been polluted by the infected for some time now.
“Yeah, mom and dad took good care of it up until they left. Since then me and Kameron here have been in charge of the fort,” Kyle said as he pulled into the long driveway. All around the two story cabin was a white picket fence; it sure wouldn’t keep the infected at bay, but it looked nice.